HBO's Oz: Almost 10 Years Later Retrospective
It’s almost ten years since HBO’s infamous prison show left our screens, and even now it remains the greatest endorsement for NOT going to prison I have ever seen.
Whenever anyone talks about prison life these days all they ever say is Its like a holiday camp. To those of you who truly feel that way I say youve never watched Oz. Its almost ten years since HBOs infamous prison show left our screens, and even now it remains the greatest endorsement for NOT going to prison I have ever seen. Featuring a merry band of characters, most of whom were either drug addled, psychotic or borderline homosexual, Oz ran for almost seven years before closing its doors for good in 2002 following an outbreak of Anthrax in the final episode, which killed off many of the remaining convicts. But an Anthrax attack wasnt the only bizarre plot line in HBOs pioneering drama series. Over the years Emerald City the specialist prison wing on which Oz takes place has seen cannibals visiting the dentist, a white supremacist being kicked out of his brotherhood after having the gums of an African-American inmate transplanted into his mouth and perhaps most ridiculous of all an injection that ages an inmate by the number of years he has been sentenced to, thus removing the need for long term incarceration. Despite all of this Oz was voted number 73 on Entertainment Weeklys new classic TV shows list in 2008, and is regarded by many as one of the greatest shows to ever feature on HBO. 
In truth Oz really was groundbreaking. Its depiction of sexuality within an extremely masculine setting even going as far as to highlight a genuine love story between too of the inmates, as moving and as tragic as anything youd see on a mainstream TV show was like nothing wed ever seen on television before. Oz never held back on issues of race or religion either and was one of the first shows to highlight the modern day plight of African-American Muslims honestly and openly. Likewise, Oz was as critical of its characters lifestyle choices as it was open about showing them and was quick to highlight the slippery slope many people find themselves on when they become part of the system. So many of the inmates who are released find themselves quickly thrown back into prison unable to cope with life on the outside, life in the real world. The insular security of Emerald City proving too strong a tie and perhaps the only real freedom many of these men have ever known. Since then these themes have featured heavily in many other hit TV series almost to the point where we are now desensitised to them but one cannot ignore the important role Oz played in laying the groundwork for outstanding television.